Kendrick Lamar, visited a New Jersey High School’s Hip-Hop Lit class on past Monday where he discussed with students and also performed for them.Brian Mooney, a teacher at High Tech High School in North Bergen, N.J. found some very similar themes between one the course’s books, Toni Morrison’s novel, The Bluest Eye and Kendrick’s TPAB album. When word got back to K. Dot, he felt he had to pay these young group of writers, poets, rappers, creatives, etc a visit.

“Something even — for me — even bigger than mentoring is really listening,” he says. “And when I do that, we have a little bit bigger connection than me being Kendrick Lamar and you being a student. It’s almost like we’re friends, you know? Because a friend listens and we learn off each others’ experiences.”